Thursday, October 25, 2007

Time

It's been a very busy week and I haven't had a lot of time to face my bete noire, the blank page. I have started a freelance writing gig for a company in Burnsville, a lovely suburb that's waaaaay south of me. The gig is a good one and I'll make some pretty good coin for as long as they need me, but it means a pretty grotesque commute, especially with the missing bridge forcing me onto roads that I'd normally avoid, like 94 and 280. This is also the first night this week that I haven't had a commitment - meeting on Monday, Boy Scouts on Tuesday, Faith Formation teaching on Wednesday. So I'm feeling behind a bit on things.

Facing the blank page is a given if you consider yourself a writer, and I do. While a lot of what I write on this blog is dashed off pretty quickly, I greatly value the opportunity to write and I appreciate those of you who take time to stop here. Usually I'm a little faster to get to the bullets, but here they come anyway:

It's been five years since Paul Wellstone and a large chunk of his family died in a horrific plane crash on the Iron Range. In the haze of nostalgia and grief that some of his followers still feel, it's easy to forget how polarizing a figure he was. Wellstone was passionate and had his charm, but as a politician he was one frequently one of the worst demagogues around. He almost never had a kind word for anyone who didn't see the world the way he did and he was quick to excoriate his opponents. If the Olympics had ever scheduled the 100 meter dash by putting a microphone and a video camera at the finish, Wellstone and Charles Schumer would have been able to beat Carl Lewis. But in a place where action is suspect and pontificating is king, Wellstone fit well. He was good enough to win two terms in the U.S. Senate. It's highly likely that if his plane hadn't gone down, he'd still be there. I firmly believe that Norm Coleman has done a much better job representing this state than Paul Wellstone ever did. And if we want to honor the memory of the late Senator, it's better to remember him for what he was and not through the gauze of hagiography.

I'm not sure what the Timberwolves are up to, but they keep adding guys when they need to start subtracting. Getting rid of malcontent Ricky Davis was a good move, although I'm not sure if Antoine Walker has anything left. Kevin McHale has intimated that more moves are in the offing. I hope so.

A word about my gig: I'm writing catalog and web copy for Northern Tool + Equipment, a fast-growing retailer steeped in testosterone. It's quite a lot of fun to extol the virtues of rivet busters and trash pumps, among other things. They sell a lot of cool stuff on their website (http://www.northerntool.com/) and I'd recommend a visit, especially if you're in need of some really heavy equipment.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

From what I know of you and your writings, you need to more aggressively market your articles. God's will demands it.

I have first hand knowledge of a relative who had zero writing experience, but through persistence, is now a regular contributor to USA Today, the regional Catholic Diocesan Paper and other regional newspapers.

Look at this Saturday's edition of the Wall Street Journal, particularly the last page of the Personal Journal section. Aside from Peggy Noonan's article, there is always an article that I could easily believe is written by this left-handed blogger. Submit a few of your articles from the blog to the Wall Street Journal. You'll be surprised what happens.

Think, big man. You owe it to yourself, your family and to others less likely in the know. You've been given a gift, but have been reluctant to publish it.

None the less, you'll always have your fans/critics like me that say you made the laziest trivia question ever in the Xavier 1981 Trivia Contest when you asked what business had been in existence since 1917, which you found off the back of your parish bulletin.

Who knows, are you the next Marty Crowe with the "Crowe's Nest" contributor to the Minnesota Catholic, or possibly Dan Vanderpas' replacement in waiting?

Whoever posted the comment about "Marty Crowe" , "the Crowe's Nest", "Xavier", and "Dan VanderPas" please contact me at adrianmartin@sbcglobal.net as I am researching the life of Marty Crowe and know the 'meaning' of all those terms.